ann romney as the convention gets down to business, she paints mitt romney as a warm

family man and charms the assembled delegates. her speech is getting rave reviews today. chris christie went after the president but didn't mention his party's nominee until afterway through. would it have been better for romney if the night had ended with ann romney's speech? and then, of course, there's isaac, the hurricane, dumps gushing rain overtopping levees, but not breaking them, as emergency evacuations are ordered in a parish south of new orleans. we're live on the gulf coast this morning. good morning from tampa, florida. site of the republican national convention. it's wednesday, august 29th, 2012. this is "the daily rundown" , i'm chuck todd, another busy hour ahead. tom brokaw, roy blunt, bob mcdonnell from team obama, stephanie cutter and a great round table. michael steele, susan law, steven page. let's get down to the first reads of the morning. tonight, paul ryan will accept the vice presidential nomination in the biggest speech of his

political career to date. the big night follows a program last night that was like a peanut butter and egg sandwich. two great tastes that maybe don't taste great together. two prime time speeches accomplished what they set out to do. but in making the soft sell and the hard sell on the same night, did the romney campaign try to do too much? often called her husband's greatest campaign asset, ann romney had one objective. how voters know her husband better. >> no one will work harder, no one will care more. and no one will move heaven and earth like mitt romney to make this country a better place to live. >> and ann romney tried to combat the notion she and her husband have lived a life of privilege. >> i read somewhere that mitt and i have a storybook marriage. well, let me tell you something. in the storybooks i read, there

never were long, long rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. and those storybooks never seemed to have a chapter called "ms" or "breast cancer." a storybook marriage? nope, not at all. what mitt romney and i have is a real marriage. >> and as ann romney aimed to close the gender gap. >> it's the moms who have always had to work harder to make everything right. it's the moms of this nation, single, married, widowed, who really hold this country together. we're the mothers, we're the wives, we're the grandmothers, we're the big sisters. we're the daughters. >> of course, when ann romney wrapped up, out came her husband, mitt romney. and maybe the night should have ended on that kiss. but instead, the ann romney

speech didn't settle in, the warm and fuzzy feelings were interrupted by the entrance of new jersey governor chris christie, whose keynote address took the fight to the democrats. >> i know the simple truth. and i am not afraid to say it. our ideas are right for america, and their ideas have failed america. >> christie's address was less about mitt romney and more about his vision for where he believes the republican party is, and he spent a lot of time telling husband own story. in fact, christie's first reference to romney didn't come until more than 16 minutes into his speech. >> we have a no, ma'am me who will tell us the truth and lead with conviction and now he has a running mate who will do the same. we have governor mitt romney and congressman paul ryan and we need to make him the next president, vice president of the united states! >> the clash between the ann romney and chris christie speeches was evident in jarring moments like this. >> tonight, i want to talk to

you about love. >> tonight, we are going to do what my mother taught me. tonight we're going to choose respect over love. >> one thing that message from christie did was raise the bar for romney on thursday, and the buzz on the convention floor was that many of christie's lines seemed to point toward his own future presidential run, as tribune reports this morning, christie's first stop after his speech was an address to the republican delegates from new hampshire. perhaps not coincidentally, home of the first in the nation presidential primaries. if there was one person who owned the room tuesday, it was wisconsin governor scott walker. walker, who beat back the recall effort led by labor unions. he got a heroes welcome, first at the roll call vote and then when he took the stage for his own speech to the convention. >> i'm governor scott walker. >> to governor scott walker of wisconsin.

>> i caught up with walker on the floor and asked him to explain why he believes he's captured the imagination of the delegates in that arena. >> it's why i love paul ryan being on the ticket. because in the end, i think americans certainly us here, but americans in general are hungry for leadership. >> and paul ryan has the potential to rock that crowd here tonight. those delegates are going to be loving him with a christie-like message. tough love without the jersey bravado but keep this point in mind. other than sarah palin, has another vice presidential nominee actually delivered a speech that made a long-term impact? remember, this stuff is always about the nominee. that said, the romney campaign will hold 20 watch parties of ryan's speech in wisconsin, and a special event in his hometown of janesville. though romney will not be in person, he gives a speech to the american legion in indianapolis. he will address delegates by

satellite on veterans' issues. tonight's lineup includes mike huckab huckabee, condoleezza rice, her first ever national political speech and new mexico governor, susanna martinez. and will there be a break-out star tonight we're not talking about? the president wraps up his college tour today at the university of virginia, charlottesville, bucking the tradition of lying relatively low during a convention, the president spent yesterday rallying young voters and managed to slip in a dig at the proceedings right here in tampa. >> the show in tampa, i'm sure, will be very entertaining. and i'm sure they'll have wonderful things to say about me. they've hired all kinds of fancy tv producers. and the only problem is, it won't offer a path forward. >> and some news overnight. the obama campaign will spend thursday night of their convention next week highlighting the president's record on national security.

that will be the biden speech, which they believe will be a particular strength. thursday will include the speech by senator john kerry as well, chairman of the senate foreign relations committee and a candidate for secretary of state, some people believe, when hillary clinton steps down at the end of this term. hurricane isaac is right now pounding new orleans, and the surrounding area with heavy rain and wind. pushing water over one of the levees. and up plaquemines parish, but not breaking the levees. it's not just louisiana. alabama and mississippi are getting hit hard, as well. the weather channel's mike seidel is in orange beach, alabama. mike, this storm is going to sit here for a while, isn't it? >> it's a very slow-mover, chuck, and that is the problem. it's a category 1, but still wind gusts over 80 miles per hour and the rain is unrelent g unrelenting. 9 inches at the airport in new orleans out here, on the mobile gulf shores area, close to 5 inches of rain.

this is orange beach, we're just off to the east of gulf shores. and high tide's a few hours away but the water is way past where it should be at high tide. this is a nice, long beach. we're losing beach to the erosion from the water. also the wind has blown a lot of sand and you can see all the seaweed now. buildings here are fine, power on. let me show the radar, it's a slow-moving isaac. still an 80-mile-an-hour hurricane. now that the center has made a second landfall and the entire center is over land, although it's kind of marshy down there, slowly will wind down in the wind perspective, but, boy, this rain unrelenting for the next cull he will days, until friday before it gets into southern arkansas. so rainfall rates of an inch an hour. numerous flash flooding. and how about the risk of levees? the federal levee held but some of the inside levees not as high were overtopped and breached in plaquemines parish. there have been water rescues. still at last report from billy nungesser, the plaquemines

parish president said there are folks that need to be rescued up on their roofs. not a good situation. these are areas that didn't get water from katrina. again, the bottom line, it's going to be a can you couple of days before we can get the rain out of louisiana. you can see on the radar, it is just not moving, it is stalled. but i can tell you one thing looking into the extendeded forecast, chuck. when you're in charlotte next week, you'll have nothing to worry about as far as a tropical storm or hurricane. i guarantee you. >> all right. but, of course, north carolina, mike seidel in orange beach, alabama. a long way from new orleans, and just showing how big that storm is. all right, as republicans, form formally nominated mitt romney tuesday let. let me show you something. paul supporters fought until the bitter end, challenging rule changes and casting votes during last night's roll call. >> iowa casts 22 votes for ron paul.

and six votes for mitt romney. >> joining me now is nbc news special correspondent tom brokaw. and tom, i bet you thought rick santorum or mitt romney had won iowa at some point. as we learned yesterday. ron paul won the most delegates out of iowa. why were we -- what were we doing in the iowa caucuses? >> there are two wings of the republican party that are not going to go away, the tea party wing and the ron paul wing. and they're there to kind of be cops, if you will, ideological cops, to say, hold -- hold up their hand and say, wait a minute, to get through this intersection, you've got to come through us. >> right, a libertarian wing. let's talk about last night. it is always important, some of us, we get caught up in the bubble of the convention. and obviously, iowa -- i want to go back and watch all these speeches on television. you want to see what did my mom see. what did my sister in law see last night. you did try to have both perspectives last night. what did you see on the

television screen? >> well, i really thought that ann romney, beginning with her, probably spoke to that working mother and/or the stay at home mother who expects to go back to work in a suburb of columbus, ohio. that's what they were trying to reach. this is going to be a big contest about gender. what kind of a pivotal role the women are going to play. >> let me stop you there. this is a big conversation about gender. that's not good news for the republican party right now. >> no, it isn't at the moment. and i think what they're attempting to do is to care about enclaves, if you will. i've talked about this. about suburban women. what appeals to them. what concerns them. and i thought that ann romney last night touched a lot of those things very well. she said, you know, i didn't have a storybook marriage. i was in a home with five screaming boys, and i had breast cancer and i had ms. and there are a lot of other women out there like that. it's the moms who are carrying

this country at the moment. it's a tough connection for them. because of all of the other social issues that are involved here. >> look, i felt as if it felt like the night should have ended with mitt romney coming out, as well. >> i don't think you're wrong. i described it as a good cop-tough cop night. and they ended with tough cop. and the fact is that he did not, governor christie, mention the candidatel until very late in the speech. >> not only that, i was surprised he didn't mention ann romney at the beginning of the speech. there was no handoff. >> i thought he was going to come out and say, how would you like to follow that? how did i draw this straw, or something like that? there was a little -- apparently there is a little something going on backstage about how long they were going to run the video to introduce him, because they were running close on prime time. nonetheless, we kind of go through those more than people at home do. and i think that they have an ability to sort it out. they say, look, we saw ann

romney. okay now who is this very large guy from new jersey who looks like someone standing at the end of the bar, and my hometown. >> and as mark murray put it, he said it was very jersey of him. okay, you have those warm and fuzzy feelings, let me tell you about what we're doing. maybe that came across well, we'll see. >> i do think that he has a real authenticity about him. and -- even though he looks like an old paw, he doesn't talk like an old paw. he talked about principle and compromise. he talked about political people have to lead now and not just worry about getting re-elected. that goes to his party as much as it does to the democrats. and he knows that. >> he did sound like he was trying to speak to independents last night. and whether that fits romney -- maybe they don't care, either one of them. but this party doesn't do that often. >> you know, what you said at the outset is the important thing. we've been spending all morning long talking about this. the decisions are being made out there. and they're being made in those precincts that both -- both

campaigns are looking at now. they're going to be not that many of them. they're going to be the swing states. and my guess is -- >> 17 media markets. >> right. and the fact is that people -- you know, i've been doing this a long time. still making up their mind. they take this in. they're not an easy sell. they know more about ann romney now and probably more about mitt romney, as well. >> all right. we'll see you tonight. of course, we're covering this for the next couple days. we're just getting started this morning. here in tampa. up next, blunt talk with missouri senator roy blunt. yes, we're talking about the republican rift over todd akin. will the controversy rear its ugly head at the podium when mike huckabee speaks? but first a look ahead at the schedules of president obama and the speaker's schedule tonight at the convention beyond just the, quote, prime time. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc, live from tampa, florida. welcome aboard!

[ chuckles ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ male announcer ] now you'll know when to stop. [ honk! ] the all-new nissan altima with easy fill tire alert. [ honk! ] it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air.

check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine.

creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic.

even though he is an uninvited guest here at the convention, missouri congressman todd akin is still an elephant in the room. i talked with three members of the missouri delegation yesterday. all three supported different candidates in the senate primary. and i asked them if aiken should get out of the race. >> he's a great guy, but he needs to get out. >> i really hope he'll get out. his comments were just indefensible and doesn't have enough time to recover. >> you're not ready to say hey, get out.

>> i'm not ready to say, hey, get out. >> why not? >> i think the voters of missouri voted for him and i think it should be his decision to get out if he chooses it to be the right thing. >> missouri senator roy blunt is romney's chief liaison in the senate. and senator blunt joins me now. i've got to share with you that delegate there, ms. davidson said she wanted to it wear a t-shirt that said, "hi, i'm from missouri, please don't ask me about todd akin." she said at the delegation breakfast, nobody is talking about it, everybody just wishes it would go away. >> maybe i should have worn that t-shirt, maybe today. you know, i think it's a distraction and the "wall street journal" this morning again said todd needs to get out of this race, because the things he's for are actually being held back by all the focus on him and some comments he's made. so it's not helpful. he's a person who i think ultimately has got to look at this and try to figure out the

greater good. and we'll see. >> you are confident he will do that? >> i didn't say i was confident. but i'm hopeful he will and i believe he will. he's an engineer, he's a quantitative guy. i think at some point you have to add up the columns here, and is my belief is by any way you add them up, they don't add up. >> have you had any conversation with mike huckabee? is he seems to be his most vocal supporter, giving a speech tonight, don't know if he'll bring it up but gave an interview with christian broadcasting network and he said here's an individual who admitted what he said was wrong, apologized, that's all he can do. the issue is not one comment that person made and reputated and apologized for. it is a litany of what barack obama has done. have you tried to convince mike huckabee to maybe back off? >> i haven't talked to governor huckabee about this. i think to come extent when you have run for president, been at a place when people are asking you to end your campaign, you have more sympathy maybe for others in that environment, but, again -- governor huckabee also

needs to look at the greater context. no matter what he thinks is fair, or whether he thinks this should be put away, all you've got to do is look at any newspaper in america for the last week, and i would be surprised if you can't find multiple stories about this instead of jobs and the economy and more american energy and getting people where they have more confidence that the government is going to do the right thing. >> you're a student of national politics. what are you -- what do you want to see happen for mitt romney out of this convention? >> you know, i think that you and i talked about this before. i think american politics almost runs on a generational clock where some of these elections are just bigger than others. this election, more than any other, remind me of 1980, the same kind of things people are saying, we'll never be who we were again, and the presidency is too big for one man. and our system is too complicated. in 1980, people liked ronald reagan, because they knew enough about him and what they knew they liked, but they weren't

sure he was up to the job. >> isn't it the reverse issue? >> i think it's exactly the reverse. so what's important in this convention, every polling indication is people think romney is the best prepared to solve the problem they think are the big problems. but how do they feel about him doing the job? i thought ann romney's speech last night was going to be and probably was the most important speech in the campaign, because it begins that process that really, you know, the reagan thing didn't lock down until sunday a week before the election. and when those two things finally came together, i think people getting comfortable with him, people understanding that what she said -- this is a man who will not fail. this is a guy who went to the grocery store for months when she was sick. this is a man who when they got bad news from the doctor was there. this is a man who was there as a role model for her children. she knows that better than anybody else. you know, my daughter from kansas city texted me during the speech last night and said from -- i think she's killing this speech.

and this man will not fail. i think a lot of people around america looked at that speech and thought that. >> we'll be watching. missouri senator roy blunt. thanks for coming on this morning. and the humidity here. still to come. we've got another party-crasher in the house. president obama's deputy campaign manager, stephanie cutter, will be coming on-set. but first today's trivia question. who was the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the presidency at a major party convention? tweet me the answer at chuck todd, "the daily rundown" , first correct answer will get a follow wednesday from us. we'll be right back.

one republican made a special plea to disi will luged democrats last night, trying to convince them that being an obama supporter four years ago

doesn't mean you have to be one now. former congressman davis knows what he's talking about. he seconded the barack obama nomination at the democratic convention in 2008. >> ladies and gentlemen, this is the cause for which we stand. an american president named barack obama who will lead and inspire the free world. >> now, some of you may know, the last time i spoke at a convention, it turned out i was in the wrong place. may it be said, of this time in our history, 2008, to 2011, lesson learned. 2012, mistake corrected. >> stephanie cutter is deputy campaign manager for president obama. little disconcerting that a man who was one of the seconders for the president's nomination goes and gives a -- at least cable prime time speech, making the case against him. >> well, i think last night's

speech by archer davis was more about archer davis than about president obama or about this country. he clearly has some future political ambitions and he has calculated this to give him a better shot at being re-elected. so i'll just leave it at that. >> there was something that caught me last night, monday night. you had the president's twitter feed, and it's a campaign twitter feet, and i understand it's not from the president himself. he said, quote, crazy as it sounds, the fight to limit or even ban birth control is a key issue in the upcoming presidential election. >> uh-huh. >> i did a poll. nbc "wall street journal" poll and i asked the top issues. you're going to tell me that birth control is going to come up to more than 1%? >> no, i think that if you ask the question, do women care about birth control and do they want people like mitt romney and paul ryan interfering with their ability to get birth control and making their health care decisions for them, i'm pretty sure it would sky rocket to number one. it is an important issue with women. they don't want people in washington interfering with it.

they don't want mitt romney and paul ryan interfering with it. so i think that that's a discussion that's being had all over the country. >> what do you say if the president says you know what, you guys are trying to talk about any issue that's not the economy. >> we're happy to talk about the economy. we're not the ones that put a bill on the floor of the house of representatives to take the decision-making away from women. they did. paul ryan did. mitt romney supports it. so they put this topic into the discussion. president wants to ensure women have access to health care. that's an important issue. we're happy to talk about that. we're happy to talk about the economy. i mean, the one thing that you didn't hear last night from any of these speakers, and it will be interesting to see if we hear it tonight, is about the republican platform. they apparently had it in the same vault that they had mitt romney's taxes in. you know, and that bans contraception, the ability for women to get contraception. it bans abortion in all circumstances, even in the cases of rape. >> you expect democrats to be 100% behind everything in the democratic platform? >> i think the platform that we'll put forward next week will represent where the president is, and where he wants to take

the country. >> are there going to be democrats that -- are you going to welcome democrats who disagree with it, because there's a lot of republicans that disagree -- >> absolutely. but the president agrees with it. that's the point. the president is running for re-election. mitt romney is running for president. mitt romney's people were sitting in the room when the platform was being written. it was written at the direction of mitt romney's staff. they didn't speak up to put a rape exception in the human life amendment. they didn't speak up to access to contraception. it's a representation of where the president wants to take the country and where mitt romney wants to take the country. >> do you believe ann romney is a good surrogate for her husband? >> i do. i think it was clear last night she loves and respects her husband and we respect that. wives play an important role or spouses play an important role in these elections. they give a lens into what motivates people. >> it was a good speech? >> it was a good speech. my take-away is she really loves her husband. >> stephanie cutter, you guys are doing a press conference against paul ryan. is that your focus today? >> it's interesting that chris

christie said last night that our leaders need to speak the hard truth. and what i think we'll hear tonight won't be the hard truth. i don't think paul ryan is going to walk through the sbablt of his medicare plan on seniors. he's not going to walk through the impact of his budget plan on kids getting kicked out of head start. and he's not going to talk about his plan to reduce the deficit because it's not a balanced plan. he asked everybody to sacrifice except for those at the top. >> stephanie cutter, enjoy the humidity. up next, if it's wednesday, that means we got election results. that's right. there was a primary last night. and an establishment candidate. kind of bit the dust. sort. you're watching a special edition of "the daily rundown" , live from tampa, florida. it's time to live... wider awake. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long.

the revolutionary recharge sleep system from beautyrest... it's you, fully charged. receive up to a $300 beautyrest visa prepaid card when you buy select beautyrest mattress sets.

we believe the more you know, the better you trade. so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more so your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our teams have the information you want when you need it. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. hurricane isaac is creeping closer to new orleans. believe it or not, the eye hasn't passed over. it's just 40 miles from the city as it slams the area with heavy

rain and winds. over 80 miles per hour in plaquemines parish. a levee has been overtopped, and water reportedly stands ten feet deep in some spots. levees around new orleans itself, though, are said to be holding. complete coverage all day on msnbc and our pals over at the weather channel. also on our radar this morning, campaign wise, texas redistricting mats are being ruled as discriminatory and is the white house in rick perry's future? but first, if it's wednesday, that means election results. arizona congressman ben quayle lost to fellow republican member of congress david swikart in a member versus member primary. he defeated quayle by seven. also in arizona, representative jeff blake won to senator jon kyl's seat. he will face off against the democratic nominee. federal court has flown out

the texas redistricting maps. the court suggested the maps were a product of, quote, discriminatory intent, unquote, after the census texas gain for seats, northeastern 90% are hispanic, african-american or asian but none of the seats will allow minorities to elect their chosen candidate. it could take years to get the map right. and speaking of texas, could the lone start be home to another vice president? i spoke with the governor last night at the convention. listen to this, folks. >> would you ever do this again? >> absolutely. >> you would run again? >> there's a long time until 2016, and a lot of good things can happen. my plan is for mitt romney so win and for him to get this country back on track. and i'll keep running the best state in the nation. >> there it was, rick perry was careful to remind people that mitt romney might be running for

re-election in 2016, by, boy, that was the first number that popped in his head. tonight is paul ryan's night. it's ryan himself who sealed the deal with many conservatives, he's the one that may truly embody the direction the party is headed. here's wisconsin governor scott walker. >> with the announcement of paul ryan as his running mate, governor romney not only showed that he has the experience and the skill to become president, he showed he has the courage and the passion to be an exceptional president. with this pick, he showed that the r next to his name doesn't just stand for republican. it stands for reformer. >> virginia governor bob mcdonnell is chairman of the republican governor's association. he's head of the party's platform committee. he joins me now. whose party is this, paul ryan's or mitt romney's? is. >> this is mitt romney's party. but they're a team. >> who do you think electrifies those delegates?

>> well, i think you see the speeches the next two nights, it's going to be both. look, if paul ryan was a great choice for the ticket, young, energetic, but most important, on the most serious issues facing america, chuck, getting our great country back to work and out of debt, paul ryan knows more about the federal budget and what needs to be done and can be done to restore solvency. brilliant choice, great governing parent for mitt romney. >> what is a success to you, what makes this convention a success to you when we're all said and done? >> i think there is no question, two things. one is to make sure people know that mitt romney is a decent, warm, loving guy of faith. that can get things done. and ann romney did a great job last night from the high school sweetheart to the successful grandfather and the generous, loving guy that he is. i thought that was tremendous in humanizing him in a way people

hadn't seen. secondly, this is an issue-driven election, not a popularity contest like the president would like to make it. it's about big things, not small things that the president is talking about. and walking away, knowing that the issues of job creation, energy and debt reduction that mitt romney has got the best idea and will get the best results, most kpenlt guy to do it, compared to the president's record of 8% unemployment for 40 months and $16 trillion in debt, that mitt romney can deliver, that's the message of this convention. >> you had the -- maybe not a lot of people wanted this task, but you had to run the platform committee. >> i did. >> we just heard stephanie cutter said the democratic platform is going to reflect everything the president believes. we already know this republican platform does not reflect everything mitt romney believes on abortion. why have a platform that doesn't reflect everything that the nominee believes? >> because -- and first of all, i doubt the democrat platform does. it's probably a fairly radical backing and i'm not sure the president would agree with everything --

>> they would agree the republican platform -- >> 90% of what's in our platform has to do with fiscal issues and jobs and the economy and constitutional liberties and government reform. the stuff that people really care about. but most importantly, what we say is that the platform exercise, it's a grass roots, bottom-up exercise. lots of input from a lot of people. 30,000 comments from any number of people from around the country. and we offered that to the candidates and i think most of it will be embraced. had a lot of input from the romney team and paul team, sw. >> is it a mistake not to have the rape exception? it. >> we just didn't comment on it. this is a plank we've had probably for 30 years which is we embrace innocent human life and the sanctity of life and the details are left to congress and the state. we believe in federalism. but that's one component. i know it's one a lot of people talked about, but it's overwhelming about how to get the country back to work with lowering taxes and regulation, litigation and having a solid energy plank. that's what we talk about. >> be honest. do you want to head this

platform committee ever again? >> well, it was an honor to do it once. he was on the -- >> just once? >> we had paul people, tea party people, a lot of energy, 112 people came out with a unified document, 50 pages. >> bob mcdonnell. good to see you, sir. >> going to beat you, irish. >> i'll be watching. >> our super sized political panel is next. but first, it's the white house soup of the day. it's a hot soup. two cold soups that fit the humidity that we're feeling here. today it's chicken noodle. doesn't feel right. we'll be right back. ♪ let's take a paint project from "that looks hard" to "that didn't take long". let's break out behr ultra. .. ...the number one selling paint and primer in one, now with stain blocker. each coat works three times harder, priming, covering, and blocking stains.

let's go where no paint has gone before, and end up some place beautiful. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. behr ultra. now with advanced stain blocking, only at the home depot, and only $31.98 a gallon.

on the biggest day of paul ryan's career, we just heard for the first time from the woman who may know him best. his wife, jana.

>> our families, our children, our future, that's what this race is all about. it is a tremendous honor to be on america's comeback team with you all. i look forward to meeting so many of you in the weeks ahead. >> let's bring in our wednesday super panel american crossroads, steven law, host of msnbc's "the cycle -- do we call you each a host? >> sure, that works. >> washington bureau chief, susan page. and msnbc political analyst, former rnc chairman and the man who made tampa a reality, michael steele. >> there you go, in the hot seat. >> you know what, though, it's a low-humidity day. susan page, you're the head of the newspaper of record in the hotels this morning. the headline, ann romney or chris christie? what was the headline? >> i think the headline is ann

romney. she had the bigger job, and she did it well. she was compel, she was personal, she was vulnerable, a little surprisingly feisty, i thought. and chris christie gave a speech i thought more about chris christie than about mitt romney. certainly waited a long time before he got around to saying the word "romney." >> michael steele, everybody wants to backseat drive. you? i'll give you a chance to backseat drive these convention organizers was the order of the speeches the correct order? >> no. i think we should have gone out with ann romney. i think that would have been the cap of that evening. chris christie, to get everybody -- the meat they need. but then the smooth wind-up at the end would have been her. i think she laid it out very nicely. i thought, quite frankly, the messages were a little bit conflicting. she comes out and said i want to talk about love and he comes out and says we're not talking about love, we're talking about respect. so it was a dissonance in terms of the flow of the messages. stand-alone, perfect.

together, it was a little bit choppy. >> any disagreement over here on that? >> i think they both worked well. i would agree with you that ending with ann romney would have been a great way to finish off the night. clearly what chris christie did, and i think did with signature strength was deliver the locker room pep talk at halftime and i think he did that well. but ann romney was a standout performance, probably one of the best i've seen by a candidate's wife. >> i want to sort of move the conversation along. whose party is this, paul ryan's or mitt romney's? >> i think it's a little bit of both. i think paul ryan, essentially, came on to the ticket and gave conservatives permission to vote for mitt romney and still feel like good conservatives. still feel like they were -- >> interesting way to put it. >> they were doing the right thing. >> they feel -- >> good krch active -- >> they feel redeemed doing it, like they can hold their heads high and vote for mitt romney. >> you buy that? >> i don't know if people think about it in that great deal of depth, but clearly that choice made it more palatablpalatable.

>> he's young, fresh, from the state having the best year ever, wisconsin. >> my word. republican party history. >> it really is, yeah. so i think there was a lot that he added. and this is certainly going to be a huge night for him and a huge night for the ticket. >> boy, ripping wisconsin. >> paul ryan's party, for sure. no question. what is mitt romney's party? would that have been the massachusetts governor's record? i don't know how -- where is the stamp of mitt romney on this party? this is a forward-looking, surprisingly forward-looking convention looking not just at november, it's looking to 2016, it's looking to 2020. >> a lot of conventions have that feel and then all of a sudden the nominee speaks. i do feel like we do get caught up in that a little bit. and then the nominee speaks and we're like, oh. that convention was about two speeches. >> exactly. >> mr. and mrs. nominee. not -- >> i get everybody's feel that this is ryan's party and all of that. but tomorrow night, this becomes mitt romney's party. he puts this in one way or another. paul ryan fades to second place

tomorrow night, period. that's how it works. and is i think we're going to see how that turns out. >> stick around. i'm going to make all of you take a guess who you think the mystery speaker -- >> i love this game! >> thursday. because i think i'm right. trivia time. we asked, who is the first woman to have her name placed in plac nomination for the presidency at a major party convention. steven, did you have the answer? >> i did not. >> i bet carl did. >> senator from maine, margaret chase smith. i know luke got it. the '64 rnc convention. margaret chase smith won the support of just 27 delegates. she lost the nomination to her senate colleague, barry goldwater. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec®

at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. it's the only way to get fresh coffee. not in my house! this new flavor lock pack from maxwell house helps seal in freshness.

wow! that is fresh! am i still yelling? [ male announcer ] maxwell house flavor lock. always good to the last drop. like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air.

let's bring back the panel.

i want to talk about somebody who has never given a national political speech, i don't think i've ever seen her do it. that is condy rice. steven law, what do you -- is this the start of something? is this the start of a political career? for condoleezza rice? >> i think this will probably be the most watched, most interest -- >> none of us have talked about and she's -- >> she's a very cautious person. tends not to step into the partisan fray. this will either be one that makes her and starts her in a new direction where people start talking about her for down the road or it's a nonevent and the focus is on ryan. >> she was one of the buzziest speakers at a big utah gathering with the big donors. >> she can effectively speak to the middle. she's one of the few bush holdovers that doesn't have the sort of, you know, the nastiness around her. they look at condi as a separate entity. she's a woman, a republican, a very private person. her coming out highly anticipated speech.

>> a little foreign policy. i expect that's what we're going to see. mitt romney, they are piping in his speech which tells me we'll not hear foreign policy tomorrow night. >> this election isn't about foreign policy. it's not about wars or national security. it's about the economy. >> you think condi rice is going to run for something? >> i'd like to see her do it. i know her passion is the nfl and wants to be commissioner some day, but condi, we need you. >> i promise the mystery guest we're all guessing. my guess, because i'm stealing right now, i think it's clint eastwood. >> steven law? >> clint eastwood or arnold schwarzenegger. >> interesting. >> i don't think he can do it, but clint -- >> a friend of mine said holl hologram ronald reagan. >> grandchildren. >> spaarah palin. >> shameless plug? >> this is real easy. get your chuck todd pin. i woke up and -- i'm telling

you, folks, wear it proudly, all right? i'm a chuck todd fan. >> people of tampa have been really nice. >> second best city in florida? go? >> no, i think the convention. i think michael steele ended up being right. after everyone was worried about the weather. >> somebody backing them up. >> state of wisconsin. >> that's your plug? >> that's it for today's edition of "the daily rundown." tomorrow, another packed show from tampa. david gregory, chris matthews, and stick with msnbc. and updates on isaac. coming up next, chris jansing. tossing and turning have given way to sleeping. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities

while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. then find out how to get lunesta for as low as $15 at lunesta.com. there's a land of restful sleep. we can help you go there on the wings of lunesta.

but last year my daughter was checking up on me. i wasn't eating well. she's a dietitian and she suggested i try boost complete nutritional drink to help get the nutrition i was missing. now i drink it every day, and i love the great taste. [ female announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to help keep bones strong and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. your favorite patient is here! [ dad ] i choose great taste. i choose boost. take a live look at new orleans right now where hurricane isaac is battering the louisiana coast with driving wind and rain. you see the iconic blue dog there on -- outside of one of those storefronts. just getting er